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William Bender and Stephanie Farr

A Delaware County judge has granted bail to Caira Ferguson, the Chester Township mother charged last week with child endangerment and related crimes after she showed police this photo of her 2-year-old daughter duct taped to a chair.

Ferguson, 21, has posted 10 percent of $25,000 bail and will be released as soon as authorities can set up a home-monitoring system, defense attorney Vicki Herr said. Common Pleas Judge Frank Hazel has ordered that Ferguson take parenting classes while awaiting her preliminary hearing. The girl's godparents have temporary custody.

On the night of Ferguson's arrest last Wednesday, Brookhaven District Judge C. Walter McCray III had sent her to prison without the option of posting bail, saying she was a danger to her child. No-bail orders are typically reserved for accused killers. McCray's move even raised eyebrows among cops and prosecutors.

"I was surprised," Herr said. "But I guess everyone tries to err on the side of caution when a small child is involved."

Herr petitioned Common Pleas Court for bail last week and, as expected, got what she wanted today. She declined to comment on the allegations against Ferguson.

The photo of Ferguson and her daughter had appeared on the gossip site MediaTakeOut.com prior to her arrest. It got 337,000 hits before it was removed at the request of Chester Township police. But the Web site couldn't stay away. The day after Ferguson was busted, they re-posted the pic, along with their unique brand of highbrow commentary.